


At the Dawning of the World

by MagicMysticFantasy



Series: Zutara Week [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Conversations, Children, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Fire Nation (Avatar), Friendship, Late Night Conversations, Post-Canon, Southern Water Tribe, Southern Water Tribe Still Exists, Spirit World, Spirits, Storytelling, Turtleducks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25522924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicMysticFantasy/pseuds/MagicMysticFantasy
Summary: These are my entries for this year's Zutara Week! The prompts for this year are:Day 1 - ReunionDay 2 - CounterpartDay 3 - FuseDay 4 - CelestialDay 5 - HesitancyDay 6 - AffirmDay 7 - RebirthI'll keep adding characters and tags as the week goes on and more prompts are posted, as usual, to prevent any spoilers! I had a lot of fun with these this year, and happy Zutara Week!
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Series: Zutara Week [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849069
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61
Collections: Zutara Week 2020





	1. Day 1: Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I had so much fun this year writing for Zutara Week, and I hope it shows in my work! I was actually counting down the days to when I'd finally be able to start sharing these with you guys, and I look forward to seeing everyone else's work for it too. With that said, I'll be posting a story a day here, and I hope you enjoy it! :)

Zuko is standing at the end of the dock, doing his best to appear stoic and not as excited as he feels at the sight of the large Water Tribe ship arriving in the harbor.

It had been over a year since Katara and Sokka had returned to the South Pole to help rebuild their tribe. With Katara’s waterbending, and the return of the men, Zuko has no doubt their village will be unrecognizable the next time he visits. He’s glad for them - after so many years of their people struggling, they deserve to thrive again.

But more than that, he’s glad to see them returning. He’s missed the siblings, and has been feeling rather isolated in the Fire Nation without them after they had all gotten so used to living in each other’s pockets for months.

The ship docks, and were he anyone but the Fire Lord, he would have already rushed up to it to jet himself on board with fire. Under the eyes of his people, he has to remain as stoic as possible, even as excitement is thrumming through his veins.

In what feels like an age, but is likely only a few minutes, the ship finishes docking and a gangplank is lowered slowly. He can see people in blue lining the edges of the big ship, and Zuko’s eyes scan for two figures in particular.

“Zuko!” At the shout of his name, Zuko’s eyes are drawn towards the top of the gangplank where Sokka has appeared, and is running down it towards the docks. Reaching the wood of the dock, it’s only moments before Sokka is right in front of him and throwing his arms around Zuko. “Hey, buddy, we’ve missed you!”

“Sokka!” he exclaims, partially in surprise at the suddenness of his friend’s appearance and partially in happiness. His arms hover in the air for a moment, before he decides to allow himself the informality and hugs the Water Tribe young man back. “It’s good to see you again.”

Almost automatically, his eyes flick behind Sokka as he steps back. There’s nobody there, and that realization produces a whole slew of emotions he’s not sure how to deal with. Glancing back at Sokka, he sees the other man looking at him with a knowing gaze, having caught the brief lapse in Zuko’s attention.

“Katara is sorting out some idiots below deck,” Sokka says, smirking at him a little in a way that confuses Zuko, before clapping a hand to his shoulder. “She shouldn’t be long now, she was really excited to be here too. I thought she was about to rip someone’s head off when there was an issue right as we came into sight of the harbor.”

“Zuko!” At the yell of his name again, Zuko’s eyes snap back towards the ship, where Katara has emerged and is also running down the gangplank like her brother had. Unlike her brother though, she doesn’t slow her approach as she gets close to him, so when she wraps him in a hug of her own she all but slams into him. “It’s so good to see you!”

He finds his arms wrapping around her automatically, and is a little surprised to find a beaming grin on his features at her arrival. He holds onto her a moment longer, taking in a deep breath of the familiar scent of water lilies, before reluctantly letting her go.

Katara takes a step back smiling widely, though she clutches tightly at his hand in exchange for the relinquished space. At the sight of her, Zuko’s breath unexpectedly feels like it’s been punched out of him. Her brown hair is down and curling in waves behind her, though she’s kept the rolled bun and hair loopies that have become her signature, and her eyes are even closer to sapphires than he remembered.

“Hi, Katara,” he barely remembers to breathe out. She squeezes his hand in response.

“Sorry it took me a minute to come out,” she apologizes, a momentary scowl appearing on her features, before her pleased smile returns. “Some idiot was messing around below deck and managed to poke a hole in our boat. I had to deal with the water and plug it up before I could come say hi.”

“Don’t - don’t worry about it,” he manages, before Sokka clears his throat loudly.

Upon looking at him curiously, Zuko sees that his knowing smirk has grown even bigger, and he’s looking pointedly at the pair of them for some reason. Beside him, Katara has tipped her head to the side in confusion, apparently not knowing what Sokka’s so smug about either.

“Not that this hasn’t been a great reunion,” Sokka says, “but Dad’s going to be wanting some help unloading soon. Is there somewhere specific we’re staying, and somewhere we can keep the goods we’ve brought to trade?”

“Of course,” Zuko says, almost jumping at the reminder. He motions with one hand towards the palace servants nearby, and they all jump to attention despite a few curious looks he sees them sharing when they glance between him and the two Water Tribespeople before him. “The servants can help you, and show everyone where they will be staying. Do you want to stay with everyone or come to the palace now?”

“You two can go ahead with Fire Lord Zuko, if you want.” The new voice has them all looking around, to where Chief Hakoda is standing with a smile. “We can manage just fine on our own until dinner, if you want to go have fun for a while with your friend.”

“You sure, Dad?” Katara asks, eyes wide, and propriety has Zuko checking as well.

“Chief Hakoda,” he says, a little startled at the offer, “it’s no trouble to stay, truly. As the Fire Nation’s guests, it would be… rude of me to just leave you and your people behind.”

“Hakoda, please,” the chief corrects. “Don’t worry about propriety right now, you three were friends before you were Fire Lord, and before these two had to become diplomats. I think we can spare a few hours for that friendship, before we have to deal with official business.”

“I - in that case, call me Zuko,” he begins, before hesitating a moment longer. “Are sure that’s okay with you?”

Zuko’s pretty sure he wasn’t able to hide his eagerness to spend time with his friends as much as he’d hoped, since Hakoda’s smile widens as he laughs.

“Go on,” he waves a hand. “I remember being young and not getting to see certain friends often. You three go have your fun, and we’ll meet up again at dinner.”

“Thanks, Dad!” Sokka says, before Zuko can put up any more of a token protest. He opens his mouth anyway, but then Katara whirls around, grinning excitedly and Zuko loses his entire train of thought at the sight of her eagerness.

_ Oh _ , Zuko realises, eyes widening a little as he stares at her.  _ Oh, Agni, that’s why Sokka had that look on his face _ .

“Come on, Zuko, let’s go!” she exclaims, pulling on his hand  _ that she’s still holding _ he realizes, as she leads him towards the palace. “You promised to show us the turtleducks the next time we visited!”

He lets himself get dragged along, following along after the two siblings and not even minding the small smile on his face for the world to see. After a few moments of following, he gets his bearings and moves to keep pace with them, his fingers tightening around Katara’s hand as he nudges Sokka’s shoulder with his own.

“Yeah, I’ll show you their pond,” he says, smile growing. “I think the two of you will really like them.”


	2. Day 2: Counterpart

Ema watches curiously from the edge of the room as the feast progresses. She’d been a servant all her life, so it was easy to fall into the pattern of being unnoticed and slipping forward only to refill a plate or cup. She feels pretty comfortable observing, and in not being caught staring to her heart’s content at the proceedings.

There were twice as many people at this feast as there normally were, and the entire city had been whispering about the guests’ arrival to the capital of the Fire Nation for the past week. They are dressed in blues, whites, and purples - with furs and leathers making up their clothes instead of cottons and silks. They carry weapons of bone rather than metal, and their hair is tied up in intricate designs rather than just being decorated with them.

Ema has so many  _ questions _ for them, and it isn’t fair that she has to stay silent and unobtrusive as a servant - something even more important than normal, since they’re here to try and work out a peace treaty to end the fighting between the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation.

Her eyes drift towards the head table, lifted above the other tables, where the… two? royal families have come together. Ema isn’t quite sure what the ruling system is in the Water Tribes, since she’s pretty sure she hasn’t heard anyone referred to as ‘Lord’, ‘King’, or ‘Princess’ yet, just as ‘Chief’.

The Fire Lord is sitting at the head of the table on one side, and Chief Hakoda (Ema is pretty sure she heard right during the announcement earlier, but she was a bit distracted when Jaili nearly tripped her while she was carrying a full jug of wine) on the other. At the Fire Lord’s right hand is Princess Azula, and at his left is Crown Prince Zuko.

Ema is sure that nobody from the Fire Nation present at the feast has missed the sleight to the heir of the Fire Nation, but they all pretend not to see it for his sake. He’s kinder than Azula is, especially to the servants, and they do their best to not bother him and to make things easier for him.

What is interesting though is that Chief Hakoda only brought one of his heirs with him, leaving the other to run the Southern Tribe in his absence. As a sign of her status, Princess (?) Katara is seated at his right hand, while his second in command Bato is at his left. This puts the new Princess right next to her counterpart here, the Crown Prince. 

This is where Ema’s attention has been all night, because things have gotten interesting, even though she doesn’t think  _ too _ many others have noticed.

The Prince has had his head ducked ever since the Water Tribe representatives have sat down, face blank and body tense. However Ema hasn’t missed the short glances he’s been sending down the table towards the Princess, her father, and her tribesman. Though, she thinks, stepping forward to add more wine to a cup, there have been a  _ lot  _ more towards the Princess than the other two.

Princess Azula has sent her own share of curious looks at the newcomers, especially to the large warrior seated beside her, but her eyes have mainly been darting between her father and the Chief, unlike her brother.

At the sight of a raised hand from the Fire Lord, Ema realizes that she’s the closest free servant to their table at the moment. Breathing in a shaky breath, she lowers her gaze and steps forward with the wine jug, walking carefully up the short steps to where the two families have met to dine.

Though she keeps her gaze lowered, smaller details about the scene are becoming clearer with the proximity. Now that she is up here, she can see the thin line the Fire Lord’s mouth has flattened to, the gleam in Princess Azula’s eyes, the tense tapping of Bato’s fingers on his leg. Ema can hear the soft rasp in Chief Hakoda’s voice that is covering his nerves too. She can also see the shy set to Princess Katara’s shoulders, and the slight flush across Prince Zuko’s cheeks.

Ema reacts to none of this, though. As a servant, she is meant to be unobtrusive and fade away quickly. However, when she moves to refill the Prince’s cup, he puts a hand over the top of his goblet.

“I’m done with wine for the night, Ema, thank you,” he says softly, so as to not interrupt his father. “I’d accept water, but don’t trouble yourself just for that.”

Her eyes flick up in surprise, despite herself. The Crown Prince knows her name? Remembering herself quickly, she lowers her gaze again, nodding in assent, but not before she catches a pair of blue eyes showing the same amount of surprise as herself. Stepping back into a corner, Ema motions subtly to another servant carrying a water jug, tipping her head a little towards Prince Zuko.

“You know the servants’ names?” Princess Katara asks softly, curiosity in her expression as Ema looks on through her eyelashes. From her position, she can see the slight red tinge the Prince’s neck has taken on at the sudden question.

“N-not all of them,” he admits equally as quietly, though he sounds slightly guilty at that fact. “There are too many for that. But the ones who frequently serve us both individually and at feasts, I try to. Ema has served our family for years now, so her name is easy.”

“She’s so young though,” Princess Katara says, surprised. After a moment though, she continues, “In the Southern Water Tribe, we don’t have servants. We’re strong, but we have villages instead of cities so we’re too spread out for that. We all put in the work to live off the land and thrive, and we all rely on each other. It’s hard to reach adulthood without knowing at least the name of every person in your village.”

The conversation continues softly and carefully from there, but Ema has to hide a smile at the sight of the two of them. Seeing the pair interact, she can’t help but think that maybe there will end up being another way to make a peace treaty, after all.


	3. Day 3: Fuse

“Ugh! Those small-minded, greedy idiots!”

The door slams open before banging shut as Katara enters the room. Her expression is pulled tight into a scowl as she storms over to the bed and flops down on her side of it gracelessly. Zuko glances up from the papers in his hands to watch her, expression amused. Lowering the documents, he reaches out with one hand to run his fingers through her hair.

“Still struggling to get those lords to agree to your welfare plan?” he asks, carefully undoing the pin for the Fire Lady emblem in her hair, now that they’ve both turned in for the night. She tips her head obligingly, and he slowly runs his hand through her hair, freeing more of her curls from where they’ve been tied up.

“Yes,” she responds, irritation clear in her tone. “I don’t understand how they don’t get it - in the Water Tribe  _ everyone  _ understood this. A society is only as strong as its most unfortunate members. By taking care of them, that provides the foundations for improvement everywhere. Sticking another factory  _ with no regulations  _ on a river that was just finished being cleaned up last month makes  _ no sense _ . The town and river have only  _ just  _ started recovering. Those lords only see the gold that will come, not the consequences that will follow!”

Katara sighs, turning onto her stomach. The red, blue, and gold panels of her robes drape across the bedspread as she does so, and Zuko feels himself smile a little at the sight. Katara had put her foot down when her ladies-in-waiting had tried to make her wear only red and gold, and tried to get her to leave her betrothal necklace in a drawer. It had been the first time Zuko had seen her truly angry in a long time, and he backed her up when she went to the royal tailors to find a compromise.

The end results of their multiple conversations and collaborations looked beautiful, and Zuko had even begun to see it spreading within the capital, the multi-colored garments catching on as a trend. He had even heard murmurs of interest from the common people about learning more about the Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, and the late Air Nomads as a result, so that more collaborations could potentially form between Fire Nation designers and outside citizens.

Shaking himself back into the present, Zuko sets aside his documents fully, putting them carefully on the nightstand by the bed. He knows he won’t work on them much anymore, too distracted by his wife and the upcoming promise of sleep. Glancing over at her, he smiles at the still-grumpy expression on her face, though it has eased significantly since she arrived.

Katara had taken to diplomacy like a turtle-duck to water, and she was usually pretty good about staying calm and reasonable when dealing with difficult politicians. However, one place where her fuse had always been short - ever since they’d met, really - was when it came to the welfare and treatment of the people. He knows that she likely had bottled up her irritation until she had arrived safely in the privacy of their rooms, knowing that it was safe to voice her annoyances here with just him in the room.

Zuko looks across the room at the candle-clock to see that it is a little early to turn in or bed, but not overly so. Besides, the two of them had already had pretty long days and could stand to get a little extra rest. He tucks a lock of Katara’s hair behind her ear to get her attention.

“You want to go to bed early tonight? You’ve been working really hard ever since you started to pitch your welfare idea to the council.”

“Tui and La, please,” Katara whines, taking a moment before she shifts to stand up to go change into her nightclothes. Her voice carries as she pulls out a tunic and pants made from a loose white fabric and ducks behind a changing screen. “I nearly fell asleep in a meeting earlier today, and almost tried to talk about our food stores to the merchant guild instead of the managers.”

Zuko laughs a little as his wife emerges, now clad in white instead of red and blue. She flops back down onto the bed and wriggles under the covers, and he leans down to give her a short kiss on the mouth before rising to change for himself.

“I was so out of it this morning that I nearly put my tea leaves in the juice pitcher, rather than the teapot,” he smiles from behind the changing screen, enjoying the sound of Katara’s responding laugh. “Then this afternoon, I forgot I had a meeting with one of the lords - forgot who he even was, really - so when I went into my office to get a few things and saw him there I actually asked him  _ Who are you?  _ before I could stop myself.”

Katara’s laughter in response to that is beautiful, and Zuko’s smile grows as he emerges. She’s smiling fondly at him as he goes to join her, summoning all but one of the flames from the surrounding candles into his hand and putting them out.

“Only you, Zuko,” she grins, immediately wrapping a deceptively muscular arm around his side as he lays down beside her. They look at each other in silence for a long moment, though there’s no discomfort. After a while, Katara speaks, her voice soft but warm. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”

“We have,” he agrees, shifting to tuck her head up under his chin. “I wouldn’t change what we went through to get to where we are, but I will say I’m glad we’ve ended up here. It was a bumpy road there for a while, for sure.”

“Hmm,” Katara hums in agreement, and Zuko allows his lips to twitch in amusement, knowing that Katara has already begun falling asleep. He decides to close his eyes too, sighing contentedly. His wife’s quiet breathing and the muffled sounds of insects buzzing are all he can hear, and the familiar smell of Katara’s water lily perfume still lingers.

“Goodnight, my love,” he says softly into the silence, his only response Katara’s even breaths as he drifts off along with her.


	4. Day 4: Celestial

“Woah…”

At the quiet exclamation, Katara looks over. Zuko is standing beside her, hood lowered and mouth agape as he stares up at the sky. He looks different here, dressed in Water Tribe colors and clothing - dark blue and white instead of black and red. He had originally shown up in his usual attire, but when facing the sharp cold of the South Pole, the Fire Nation clothes just didn’t hold up, and Hakoda had ended up lending him some of his own.

Now, she smiles as she sees him moving aside the thick furs to get a better glimpse of the sky. She follows his gaze to where the green, pink, purple, and blue lights dance among the stars. The lights flare and burn, twisting and weaving among the constellations, and Katara feels the familiar awe at the sight well up within her.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” she asks softly. Zuko lets out a quiet noise of agreement, unwilling to tear his gaze away from the sky for even a moment.

“What is it?” he asks, equally as quiet.

“They’re the spirit lights,” she responds, years of stories and lessons about them welling up in her memory at the words. “They have them in the North too, but they can’t be seen anywhere else but the poles.”

“Why are they called spirit lights?”

Katara is silent for a moment, recalling the old stories told around the fire during the long winter darkness, when the sun never shone and the cold and dark reigned aside from the dancing lights in the sky, the moon, and the stars. Turning her gaze from the familiar sight, she looks back to Zuko, his golden eyes reflecting the glow above as she answers.

“There’s a tale among my people,” she began. “I don’t know if it’s the same in the North, and to tell it in full detail would take more time than we have right now, but how we tell it here goes basically like this. Long ago, when people died, they had to find their way to the spirit world on their own. They had no sun to guide them, for they could only wander at night. So they stumbled and roamed in the dark, trying their best to find their way to join the spirits.”

“Why didn’t the spirits help them?” Zuko asks, finally dragging his eyes away from the sky for a moment to look back at her. Katara smiles a little, remembering how Sokka had asked the same question when their Gran-gran told them the story for the first time.

“The spirits weren’t as kind back then,” she explains. “They liked the spirit world the way it was, and didn’t want all the people to join them, so they hid the entrance from the people and left them to roam the world instead. However, a nearby arctic wolf-fox spirit had overheard the other spirits talking - because animals didn’t have the same problems finding the spirit world that humans did, since they could use their sense of smell and hearing instead to get there.

“The wolf-fox didn’t think it was fair to let the humans continue to roam forever, so she devised a plan. It took three days and three nights before she figured out what to do, but the very next night before the sun set, the wolf-fox went racing across the sky to grab some of its flames in her jaws.”

“Wouldn’t that hurt, though?” Zuko’s eyes are wide, and Katara nudges him lightly with a raised eyebrow. His mouth snaps shut. “Sorry, you were saying?”

“ _ Anyway _ , the wolf-fox wasted no time in racing down towards the material world. The wandering spirits of the people saw the flames she carried and began to follow. The wolf-fox raced all across the sky, and then made her way back to the spirit world, going so fast that she left a glowing trail of sparks behind her. The spirits followed the path she’d walked, and were able to find rest in the spirit world at last.

“However, when getting fire from the sun to light the way, the wolf-fox had lingered for too long. Her feet and tail had been lit aflame as she stood on the Sun just long enough to scoop some up and had turned black, while the rest of her had been scorched red from the heat. When she had dipped her head, her nose and the tips of her ears had caught alight as well. As she held the flames in her mouth, her lips had turned black.

“When she returned to the spirit world, all the other spirits could see in an instant who had led the humans there against the spirits’ will. The other spirits grew angry and cast her out to roam among the material world forever, along with all of her descendants. But they could no longer hide from the humans, for the wolf-fox’s kindness and skill was so great that her trail of sparks stayed lit in the sky as what we call the stars, and the trail she ran with the fire still lights up the sky on the coldest nights to lead humans on to the next life in the spirit world even today. So, when we see the lights, we remember the wolf-fox, and we can know that our loved ones are safely walking the sky to the next world thanks to her.”

As Katara finishes the story, silence falls. She watches as Zuko turns back to the colorful display above, and looks at it again herself. The sound of the waves against the ice and the smell of salt and snow fill the air around them as the spirit lights above dance in silence. Behind them, the glow from the main igloo where everyone was gathered cast their shadows across the snow.

“Zuko! Katara! Hakoda and Kanna are looking for you two! Your uncle as well, Zuko!” A tribeswoman calls from the entryway, breaking the stillness. The pair turn in unison towards her.

“Thanks, Tirka! We’ll be there in a minute!” Katara calls back, causing the woman to nod and disappear back within the igloo. She looks back at Zuko and notices the paleness of his features suddenly, and the way he is shifting his weight between his feet. She steps forward into his space and reaches out to pull his hood back over his head.

Her hands linger on the sides of his hood as he glances down in mild surprise. She smiles before leaning up to press her lips to his chastely, his hands automatically going to her waist as he returns the gesture. After a moment, she breaks the contact and leans back, though she leaves her hands on his shoulders and he leaves his on her sides.

“You should have told me you were getting cold out here,” she scolds lightly, smiling teasingly at him, “or at very least pulled your hood back up. It’s colder here than you’re used to in general, much less as a firebender at night.”

“I’ll be more careful,” Zuko promises, eyes warm. “But I wasn’t that cold yet. Besides, I wanted to see the lights better.”

He glances back up at the celestial show at that, but Katara steps back to take his hand and pull him insistently back to the feast that’s still happening inside the communal igloo. Zuko follows easily, offering no resistance to her direction.

“They’ll be back,” Katara states firmly, “and we have more… pressing matters to see to at the moment.”

Zuko laughs a little at that, swinging their mittened hands between them gently.

“Your family did take well to you announcing our engagement, didn’t they?” he comments, glancing back towards the feast that’s in full-swing. “I half expected to be tossed into the sea immediately for not asking permission first.”

“If we were in the North, maybe, but they know I make my own decisions,” Katara says in reply, a small smirk on her features. “But they also like you. Gran-gran has been teasing me about ‘making it permanent’ for a while now, and Dad’s been asking me some not-so-subtle leading questions. Even Sokka made some comments, so that says something.”

“And how’s Suki doing?” Zuko asks pointedly, tone playful as he raises his eyebrows. Katara laughs in response, pausing right outside the furs shielding the entrance to the igloo from the elements.

“Point taken, and she’s doing well,” she responds. “So, ready to face the crowd, the attention, and the questions?”

“Not really,” Zuko says, a slight grimace of discomfort on his face, “but I’m willing to anyway. You’re worth it, and they’ll be family soon anyway.”

Katara softens at that and gives his hand a squeeze.

“You’re worth it too,” she says quietly, before moving to push the fur curtain aside, leading them into the room beyond to enjoy the celebration of their engagement. As the curtain falls shut behind them, the spirit lights in the sky behind them continue to glimmer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story in this was inspired by Inuit, Cree, and Finnish stories about the Northern Lights, with some other influences from a few books I've read in the past, so I would like to give credit where it's due. I wanted her story to have a basis in the real world stories but also have parts that were unique to itself. I hope I did it justice, and if not, please let me know.


	5. Day 5: Hesitancy

The quiet sounds of the pond fill the air, as fire-bugs light the scenery around them. There’s a nervous tension filling the space between the two figures seated on the bench by the water, watching as the turtle-ducks paddle gently around nearby.

“I… I don’t know where to start with this, but we do need to talk about it at some point,” Katara says softly, her sapphire gaze steady on the small animals swimming. Zuko glances up at her, before turning his eyes down towards the patch of earth between his feet.

“I don’t know where to start either,” he admits, cheeks tinting slightly red despite his best wishes. “I guess first, we should probably make sure both of us are on the same page about what ‘it’ even is.”

There’s another long moment of silence at that, before Katara speaks up, her eyes flashing towards him briefly for his response.

“I like you,” she says bluntly, only the tightening of her hands in her skirts showing her nerves at admitting that aloud. “A lot more than I should, probably. And I think you like me back.”

“Yes,” Zuko responds quickly, voice soft. “You’re right. I do like you, and I probably like you more than I should too.”

They both breathe softly into the night air, cheeks warm and avoiding each other’s gaze. The night air smells like magnolia flowers and summer rain, still warm from the day-time heat and the sky now-clear from clouds, now that the rain has passed.

“So I guess the only thing left is where we go from here,” she says quietly. “Do we leave it at that and go our separate ways, follow it and see what happens, agree to stay friends?”

“We’ll remain friends either way as far as I’m concerned,” Zuko snorts, glancing over to Katara with amusement in his golden eyes. “We’ve been through too much together for anything to ruin that on my end. If I’m being completely honest, I’d be interested in following this to see where it goes for us, only…”

“Only?”

Zuko sighs, dragging his hands over his face before leaning back on the bench to look up at the sky. The stars are clearer than ever, and he traces the constellations he knows as he works to put his reservations into words. Beside him, Katara waits patiently. The waterbender had quickly picked up on the fact that he sometimes needed some time to find the right words, once they’d started traveling together and sorted out their differences, and it was reassuring that her patience with it continued even here.

“I’m hesitant, because of a few reasons,” he finally says, tipping his gaze back down to meet hers. “Things ended with Mai a little messily, and I’d rather not rub salt in that wound before it’s healed if I can help it. Besides that, I’m going to be really busy being Fire Lord for the next while, and I’m not sure how much extra time I’ll have to give to someone else. And there’s also the fact that… the fact that the Fire Nation is still working on moving forward. I don’t want you to suffer because they are still stuck in the past, when it comes to who I - who I date.”

Zuko feels his face turn bright red at his last words, but he doesn’t take them back. He also doesn’t really want to run from this conversation, knowing as well as Katara that this needs to happen sooner or later. Beside him the girl sighs.

“I have my own reservations as well,” she admits. “I’m the last waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe and the daughter of our chief, I owe it to my people to help them rebuild our villages and our culture. I also know that - that a lot of people are expecting me to end up with, well, Aang, including Aang himself. That will be an entire mess to deal with, even if I were willing to just go along with it all, which I don’t think I am. There’s also a lot of people who need help right now, even though the war is over. As a waterbender, a healer, and as a person, I’m able to help them, and I feel like I maybe have a duty to them as well. So I get it, the timing wouldn’t be ideal for either of us.”

“But you’re… interested in trying this too?” Zuko asks hesitantly, looking up at her shyly through his fringe. Katara bites her lip, and her cheeks are red even in the moonlight as she glances back at him carefully.

“I think so?” she responds hesitantly, causing his heart to miss a beat as he blinks. “I - I think it might be best if we don’t rush anything right now, though. The timing isn’t the best, and neither of us are very sure about trying, but… that doesn’t mean that the timing will always be bad. And things can progress naturally if they will, and maybe by the time we’d both fully be ready, we’ll have discovered we’re better off friends. I would like to try, but our lives will both be very messy for the next while.”

“That’s true,” Zuko says, tipping his head. “Besides, we don’t have a time limit about when to decide this. We can take however long we want with this - assuming you’re okay with that too.”

“Yeah,” Katara murmurs, turning to look at him fully for the first time since they sat down. “I - Would you be willing to agree that while we’re figuring this out, we - we won’t… other people… I mean -”

Zuko blinks, looking at her in confusion as she grows more and more frustrated at her inability to communicate what she wants. Then it suddenly clicks and his eyes widen in surprise. Katara looks a little sheepish but sincere as she sits across him, her eyes locked on his. Then the meaning of what she’s asking fully sinks in, and his cheeks blaze red again.

“I - yeah,” he mutters awkwardly. “D-dating other people isn’t - isn’t something I’d be interested in anyway, but I’m fine to agree to that.”

“O-oh. Good, then. Me - me too.”

There’s a moment of silence, before Katara snickers. Zuko looks over at her, and she has a hand pressed over her face, cheeks red. She snorts and breaks down into full-blown laughter. Looking at her, Zuko feels his own lips twitch upwards. The situation and the weird tension is kind of amusing, and before he knows it he’s breaking out in embarrassed laughter as well.

They laugh for a long while, but when they finish, the tension from before is gone, and they’re left smiling. Katara leans her shoulder into his as they both look out over the turtle-duck pond again.

“We’ll figure it out,” she promises decisively. “Wherever we end up with this, we’ll make it work for us.”

Zuko doesn’t say anything in response to that, but the lacing of his fingers with hers says more than enough, he thinks.


	6. Day 6: Affirm

The healer does her best to give the pair privacy as she cleans up her tools, turning away from them as much as she can. She had only just allowed the Fire Lord back into the room, having kept him separate when she was working as he came close to fainting several times, his anxiety making him hyperventilate.

It was the kind of thing she didn’t need in the room while doing her work, so she had sent him out as she tended to his wife. Now though, she was happy to let him back in, and had to suppress a smile at what she was unintentionally overhearing.

“Is it…?”

“It’s a girl,” the Fire Lady responded, and the healer could hear the smile in her voice the same way she could hear the quiet awe in the Fire Lord’s. “Born healthy as ever, and I’m fine too.”

“She looks like us both,” he said quietly, over the sounds of the baby moving around. The healer agreed - the girl was a pretty even mix between her parents, from what they could already see. Her hair was straight and black, if a bit thicker than most in the Fire Nation, and her skin was a light brown somewhere between the shades of her parents. Only time would tell what color her eyes were, though.

“Yes, she does.”

“We still have to name her,” the Fire Lord commented, and the healer couldn’t help a glance back to see what was happening.

The Fire Lady was propped up in bed with pillows, the newborn baby held close to her chest, and the Fire Lord seated beside her. One hand was holding his wife’s, and the other was gently stroking the baby’s hair with the back of his fingers. The healer had to look away from the sight before too long - both because of professionalism, but also because the scene was too personal and intimate for her to see now that her job was done.

“We had some ideas before she was born, but now that she is…” the Fire Lady trailed off for a moment, before continuing. “Now that she is, none of them seem quite right.”

“They don’t, do they?” After a moment of silence, the Fire Lord spoke up again. “What do you think of Izumi?”

“Like fountain?” the Fire Lady asked, consideringly. A quiet noise of dissent sounded from her husband.

“I was thinking more like ‘spring’,” he stated. “After the Spirit Oasis, where I first truly  _ saw _ you, and the Crystal Catacombs where your kindness in offering me its water planted the seeds that eventually changed my mind.”

“Izumi,” the Fire Lady mused aloud. “Izumi. I like it! Welcome to the world, Izumi.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Izumi,” her husband said softly. As the healer turned around to bow before leaving, she caught sight of the couple and their new child once more.

Little Izumi had finally drifted off to sleep, and both of her parents were smiling at her, expressions gentle and loving as they gazed at her. After a moment, the pair looked up to smile at each other, fierce joy filling both of their expressions, despite the exhaustion lining the features of the Fire Lady.

The healer left them to it, slipping out of the room to deliver the good news to those waiting outside, her absence unnoticed by the new parents in the other room. She smiled as she went, leaving them both to their happiness and marvelling once again at the affirmation of life that always accompanied this aspect of her job.


	7. Day 7: Rebirth

Zuko sighs, setting down the last box he has and looking over the room. Everything he has here is all he’ll be keeping of his life, having told his father (and being told  _ by _ his father too) that he was done and not going to be coming back.

He’s alone. Glancing down the hall from the doorway, all the other dorm rooms are crowded with parents and siblings all saying goodbye to their loved ones, now that they are moving out and starting college. Here, at the end of the hall, Zuko’s dorm is a little conspicuous in that he’s the only one here.

_ Bzzt. _

Blinking at the alert, Zuko takes out his phone to see that he has a message from Azula. He debates about opening it for a while, but finally gives in and taps on her name.

_ Hey, loser. I know you meant it when you said you were leaving, and even if you didn’t we both know Dad did. I also know that I’m not always honest so you might not believe me, but I am telling the truth when I say that this doesn’t change the fact that you’re my brother and I’ll help you where I can. Ugh. Now that all the mushy stuff is out of the way, you still owe me five dollars from two weeks ago, so don’t forget to pay up, idiot. _

Zuko can’t help but smile at the typical Azula form of affection. It’s rare that she does it without insults - and even that she does it at all. They’d had a rough patch when they were younger, when she was fourteen and he was sixteen, and Azula had been vying for their father’s affection by following his lead and Zuko had just learned that his father had intentionally banned their mother from seeing them. But they’d somehow come out the other side of that whole mess and managed to actually be siblings again, and Zuko was grateful for it.

_ Thanks squirt,  _ he sends back.  _ Call you soon, I just have to finish unpacking, meet my roommate, and go to Welcome Night first. _

She sends him the middle finger emoji in reply, and he snorts, before pocketing his phone and beginning to unpack his belongings. He’s managed to unpack all but one box when the door opens behind him. Zuko straightens, feeling unusually nervous as he turns to meet the person who’s probably going to be his roommate.

A dark-skinned boy with his hair in a topknot and bright blue eyes stands in the door. He’s wearing a navy blue t-shirt, grey cargo shorts, and sandals. In his arms are several boxes, and he’s paused in the entryway to blink at Zuko in surprise.

“Er, hey,” Zuko says, rubbing the back of his neck. The boy blinks, then rushes to catch the boxes that have begun slipping.

“Woah!” he yelps, moving to put them down on his side of the room. Once they’re safely set down, he turns, smiling genuinely if a little awkwardly in return. “Hi! I’m Sokka.”

“Zuko.” He puts his hand out and shakes Sokka’s own. Studying the other boy a little more closely, he feels a wash of recognition that he can’t explain. “Sorry, have we met before?”

“I don’t think so?” Sokka says, studying him in return. “I feel like we have, but I can’t remember where, and I definitely don’t recognize your name. Anyway, my dad and sister will be up soon, but they won’t stay long. My sister has to move into her room still, and Dad will be helping her before leaving.”

“Are you two twins?” Zuko asks, mentally patting himself on the back for keeping the conversation going decently, well-aware of how awkward he can be around strangers.

“Nah, she’s seventeen, I’m eighteen,” Sokka says, before rolling his eyes. “She just skipped a grade when we were younger, so we’re starting college at the same time.”

“Oh,” Zuko replies, floundering a little for a new topic of conversation. “Wha-”

A knock on the door cuts him off, and Sokka moves to open it. He opens the door to reveal a bearded man in jeans and a blue flannel carrying a big box. He has kind blue eyes the same shade as his son’s, and his hair is half-up and half-down.

“You were supposed to wait,” he scolds, eyes smiling. Sokka flushes and rubs the back of his head before helping his dad set down his box. The door creaks open again, revealing a stack of boxes. It takes a moment for Zuko to realize they’re being held up by someone, and when he does, he gapes a little at the amount of strength it would take to carry all that.

“Sokka, take some of your shit before I drop it all,” a girl’s voice comes from behind it. Sokka hurries over and takes about half the stack, revealing long brown hair, the same blue eyes as Sokka and their dad, and a pretty blue necklace. Zuko feels his breath catch despite himself, and he quickly turns to continue unpacking his things before he can start blushing. “Geez, did you pack the entire village in here?”

“I’m sorry if I want to be prepared!” Sokka says from behind him. Zuko can’t help himself and glances up again, catching long lashes and ocean blue.

“Hi!” she says, sticking a hand out. “I’m this idiot’s sister, Katara. It’s nice to meet you!”

“Zuko,” he says, taking her hand. The feeling of recognition passes over him again, and he does his best to shake it away, not wanting to freak her or the rest of the family out.

“Hey, this might be a little weird,” she says, tilting her head curiously, “but do you believe in reincarnation?”

“Not this again,” Sokka groans before Zuko can say anything, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. Their father watches the scene curiously as Katara turns on her brother.

“Hey, it happened with Aang and Toph before, what’s to say it’s not real and that he’s a part of it too? I know you felt  _ something _ when you met him, you can’t lie to me, I know all your tells,” she snaps.

“Kids,” their dad warns, as Zuko’s heart races, looking at the three of them.

“Yeah,” he blurts out, shifting uncomfortably as the trio turns to him in unison. “I - I do believe in it. Two of my sister’s friends - they felt familiar as soon as we met them.”

Their dad blinks at him curiously, and something in the set of Sokka’s shoulders relaxes minutely at his declaration. But it’s Katara’s warm smile that keeps his attention, and Zuko almost takes a step back from it.

“Good,” she says softly. “Then nice to probably meet you again.”

_ Shit, _ Zuko realizes, eyes caught on the curve of her smile and the shine of her eyes. He’s going to have to have a  _ long  _ conversation with either his uncle or his sister tonight - preferably outside of his dorm room, where Sokka can’t overhear.

“Nice to meet you again too,” he manages to croak, casting about for an excuse to leave when his eyes catch on the empty cardboard boxes he stacked to the side. “I’m just going to go toss these, be right back!”

He flees, feeling the back of his neck flush bright red, and doing his best to ignore the flashes of snow, water, and large bison moving through his head as he passes by the pair of siblings. As he leaves, he overhears the family talking before the door closes.

“Great job, Katara, you scared off my roommate with your magic talk about - I don’t know, rebirth or whatever!”

“Shut up, Sokka! I think he’s just shy - he didn’t seem to like the attention that much.”

“I don’t know, kiddo. I think he maybe just got a little flustered around a pretty girl.”

“ _ Dad! _ ”

Zuko heaves a deep breath. It’s going to be a long year at this rate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read and interacted with this story! I saw so many good stories and art pieces come out of this year's Zutara Week, and I had a lot of fun! I hope you all enjoyed this series of short stories, and I look forward to doing this again next year! :)


End file.
